This is a record of my journey as a Muslim. I used to be Catholic and belonged to a missionary organisation. After my conversion, I sat on the board of a Muslim converts' organisation and specialised in da'wah programmes, convert management, interfaith issues and apostasy cases. I am an initiate of a Sufi order. As such, the articles and writings tend to cover these areas.
All the Arabic and graphics could not have been done without the help of my wife, Zafirah.

Tuesday, 22 January 2013

Tawaswswul in the Shafi'i Madzhab

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ
ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ

Hafizh Khathib al-Baghdadi (r.a.) narrated, in Tarikh al-Baghdadi, that the truthful, swaduq, Qadhi al-Husayn ibn ‘Ali as-Saymari
(r.a.) narrated to them, that the
trustworthy, tsiqah, Imam ‘Umar ibn
Ibrahim ibn Ahmad al-Muqri (r.a.),
told him, that the trustworthy Shaykh Makram ibn Ahmad (r.a.) told them, that Shaykh ‘Umar ibn Ishaq ibn Ibrahim (r.a.) told them, that the trustworthy
Shaykh ‘Ali ibn Maymun (r.a.) told
them, “I heard ash-Shafi’i say, ‘I swear I seek the blessing of Abu Hanifah and
come to his grave every day. Whenever I
have a certain need, I pray two rak’ah,
then I come to his grave and ask Allah Most High for my need at his grave, and
little time passes until it is fulfilled.’”

Imam an-Nawawi (r.a.),
in describing the manners and etiquette of making pilgrimage to the shrine of
Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.), wrote, “The
pilgrim should face the shrine of the Messenger of Allah (s.a.w.), make him a means towards reaching Allah and seek his wasilah as intercession, in the same
manner as the Bedouin who visited the Prophet's (s.a.w.) shrine and standing beside it said: ‘Peace unto you O
Messenger of Allah, I have heard Allah has Said:

… If they had only, when
they were unjust to themselves come unto thee and asked Allah’s Forgiveness and
the Messenger had asked Forgiveness for them, they would have found Allah,
indeed, Oft-Returning, Most Merciful. (Surah an-Nisa’:64)

Therefore, I have come to you for Forgiveness of my sins
and seeking your intercession with Allah.’”

Imam al-Ghazali (r.a.)
allotted a special section in his Ihya’ ‘Ulum
ad-Din concerning the manners of pilgrimage to the shrine of the Prophet (s.a.w.) in order to repent and seek Forgiveness
from Allah (s.w.t.). He wrote. “The Prophet (s.a.w.) should be made the means and the intercessor, and with face
turned towards the tomb, the pilgrim should implore Allah for the sake and
position of the Prophet (s.a.w.) with
the words: ‘O Allah, indeed You have Said:

… If they had only, when
they were unjust to themselves come unto thee and asked Allah’s Forgiveness and
the Messenger had asked Forgiveness for them, they would have found Allah,
indeed, Oft-Returning, Most Merciful. (Surah an-Nisa’:64)

O Allah, surely we have heard Your Words and we obey Your Command,
by coming to Your Prophet (s.a.w.) to
seek his intercession with You for our sins; how burdensome and heavy are sins
on our backs. We repent of slipperiness,
we confess our wrongs and our faults; Accept our repentance for his sake, Make
Your Prophet (s.a.w.) intercessor for
us, and Exalt us for the sake of his position and his rights with You.’”

Imam al-Ghazali (r.a.)
added, “It is recommended the pilgrim should go daily to the Baqi’ Cemetery and
after saluting the Prophet (s.a.w.),
make pilgrimage to the tombs of Hasan ibn 'Ali (r.a.), ‘Ali ibn al-Husayn (r.a.),
Muhammad ibn ‘Ali (r.a.) and Imam Ja’far
ibn Muhammad (r.a.), and also perform
the swalah in the Mosque of Fathimah
(r.a.).”